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In Los Angeles, even small-scale real estate projects can be overwhelmed by the city's complex procedures and bruising politics. Benjamin Donel, who decided two years ago to expand his business in Highland Park by building a carwash, learned that lesson firsthand. Donel, the owner of a Shell gas station on Figueroa, figured there wouldn't be too much drama surrounding his project. After all, there was already a carwash on the opposite side of the street, and another at the nearby 76 station immediately to the north. His next-door neighbors saw things differently. Those residents fought the project, arguing that Donel's plan would create unbearable noise and traffic....

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In Los Angeles, even small-scale real estate projects can be overwhelmed by the city's complex procedures and bruising politics.
Benjamin Donel, who decided two years ago to expand his business in Highland Park by building a carwash, learned that...

Flanked by property owner and tenants' rights advocates, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti urged state lawmakers Wednesday to support a bill that would give owners a 30% tax break off the cost of seismically retrofitting vulnerable buildings.
“We as a city...

Like many other big players in national politics, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has relied for years on campaign cash from California to fuel his career.
But on Thursday in Los Angeles, scores of Californians who want to oust the mayor in Chicago’s April...

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has set a deadline for his plan to require retrofitting of thousands of earthquake-vulnerable buildings, saying he'd like to have the new laws in place by the end of the year.
It's an aggressive timeline, compared with how...

Praising her experience, Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson threw his support Monday to candidate Carolyn Ramsay in the May 19 runoff to replace termed-out Councilman Tom LaBonge.
Ramsay, who has served as chief of staff to LaBonge, was...

A Los Angeles City Council planning committee on Tuesday postponed a closely watched decision on a set of temporary ordinances intended to limit the construction of "McMansions" in 20 neighborhoods.
After hearing dozens of speakers pro and con,...

Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar and former county Supervisor Gloria Molina took jabs at each other Wednesday night during an acrimonious debate that contrasted the candidates' views on transportation and downtown development.
Appearing at the...

Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar and former County Supervisor Gloria Molina took jabs at each other Wednesday night during an acrimonious three-way debate focused heavily on transportation and growth.
Seated onstage at downtown's historic Los...

Since Los Angeles embarked on plans to require costly retrofitting of thousands of earthquake-vulnerable buildings, some apartment renters have feared the costs of the work would be passed on to them.
The city is already ranked as one of the least...

Los Angeles City Councilman Gil Cedillo set off a small political firestorm in his district last summer, putting off plans for a Figueroa Street bike lane and enraging a potent group of advocates.
Cycling activists were fierce in their criticism of the...

Los Angeles leaders are hoping to use a new tax-sharing law to help finance ambitious plans to transform the city's namesake river into a ribbon of recreational areas and vibrant new developments.
As of Jan. 1, local officials have the authority to...

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's ambitious plan to require thousands of earthquake-vulnerable buildings to be retrofitted was welcomed Wednesday by the City Council, which began the process of drafting an ordinance.
Many council members expressed...

Over the last two decades, Los Angeles City Hall showed little interest in proposals that would force property owners to strengthen the thousands of buildings in the city vulnerable to collapse in a major earthquake.
But Mayor Eric Garcetti's new seismic...

Three days before Los Angeles lawmakers voted on a proposal to ban genetically modified crops, the world's largest biotechnology trade group hired three top City Hall lobbyists to stop it.
The matter had sailed through a meeting weeks before with only...

When Angelenos phone the city to complain about illegal construction, trash piling up next door or other building nuisances, some parts of town have gotten a faster reaction from building inspectors than have others, a Times analysis of city data...

A committee of Los Angeles lawmakers took a step Tuesday toward legalizing street vending, vetting a basic framework for how sellers who ply their trade on sidewalks or in parks could get city permits.
But the plan is far from a done deal, as fierce...

Following up on last week's U.S.-China climate change agreement, Mayor Eric Garcetti said Friday he would invite leaders of Chinese and American cities to a summit in Los Angeles next year to kick-start efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions in both...

Can changing when Los Angeles votes reverse a long-term decline in turnout?
Los Angeles lawmakers Friday are set to consider letting voters decide whether city elections should be moved to even-numbered years.
The City Council has asked its lawyers to...

A newly proposed Los Angeles city ordinance would require residents to secure handguns when they aren’t being used, either by storing them in a locked container or disabling them with a trigger lock.
City Councilman Paul Krekorian, who proposed the...

On a quiet Sunday morning in East L.A. a few weeks back, the campaign between Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar and County Supervisor Gloria Molina provided its first truly awkward moment.
Huizar, who is seeking a third term in the March 3...